This invention relates to a fastening system for a protective apron on the user, for example for aprons used by the people working in the field of butchery.
Such protective aprons are generally made of coat of mails or with metal plates assembled together with rings. The corresponding aprons are therefore relatively heavy and, to obtain efficient protection, they must be positioned correctly on the user, thereby covering the parts of the body that are particularly exposed to the sharp tips of knives.
Such aprons are generally hooked using braces, with a belt extending rearward to hug the user""s waist. Because of their structure, they require from a user minimum time to putting such aprons on, especially for adjusting the belts. Such aprons also exhibit a certain complexity when the user must slip his arms and his head through the brace system.
Aprons are also known, as described in the document CH-204 829, which comprise a belt for hugging the waist with in addition, instead of braces, a neck-enclosing part that supports the apron at its upper section. The belt and the neck-enclosing part each comprise an adjustment buckle.
Such a type of apron has the shortcoming of the weight resting on the rear base of the user""s neck and of forcing the latter to perform several adjustments each time the user puts the apron on.
The document U.S. Pat. No. 2,442,895 also describes a protective apron whose fastening system comprises a single strap that is arranged in a triangle between the sides of the apron, and a neck-enclosing part, to form braces and a belt. The neck-enclosing part is made of a single piece with the front section of the apron, and the user must connected both free ends of the single strap into a knot to put the item on.
There again, the clamping tension and the length of the braces must be adjusted each time the user puts the apron on.
This invention suggests a fastening system for an apron that enables the user to put his apron quickly on with no need to pay attention to any adjustments, which adjustments are reduced to a minimum and may be carried out once and for all if the apron is worn on a regular basis by the same user.
Moreover, the fastening system according to the invention enables better distribution of the weight of the apron over certain parts of the body in order to reduce the user""s tiredness.
Such a protective apron is generally worn over another apron that forms a kind of lining enabling to protect the user""s clothes. The user first of all puts this lining apron on, which is made of plastic material and fitted conventionally with braces and a belt; he then puts the protective apron on that forms a true armour.
This invention also suggests to simplify this type of lining apron while connecting it to the fastening system of the protective apron.
The fastening system according to this invention comprises a neck-enclosing part whose ends are attached in a removable fashion to the upper section of the apron, and a belt extending rearward while connecting the sides of the said apron. Such a belt has the shape of a strap arranged in a triangle between the sides of the apron and the dorsal end of the neck-enclosing part, which strap comprises, on the one hand, an attachment that is situated on the section acting as a belt and, on the other hand, means for adjusting its length.
Still according to the invention, from the fastening system located on the section acting as a belt, the sole strap extends toward the sides of the apron and goes back upwards to the neck-enclosing part to form the braces, one of the ends of this strap passes through a buckle provided on the said fastening system to provide a return section fitted with a clip suitably designed to be interlocked on the said strap in order to form the length-adjusting means.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the neck-enclosing part has the shape of a horseshoe whose both lateral bands have a selected width in order to distribute the pressure on the user""s shoulders, and whose rear section, intended for extending on the user""s back, comprises an eyelet for the free passage of the strap.
Still according to a preferred embodiment, the neck-enclosing part is made of plastic material, for instance cut into a plate; both its lateral bands comprise hooking means on the upper section of the apron and its rear section has the shape of a crescent.
The oblong orifice provided in these plates is preferably oriented in a direction perpendicular to the bisectrix of the angle formed by both strap sections extending from this orifice.
According to another feature of the invention, the neck-enclosing part of the fastening system comprises means for hooking at least one accessory. To this end, the neck-enclosing part can be fitted with one or several sections of a snap fastener suited for hooking the end of a glove-shoulder.
According to another characteristic, the neck-enclosing part is fitted with hooking means on the upper section of the apron, which are fastened to the ends of the lateral bands via a buckle closed by a section of a snap fastener with two identical male or female elements, mounted upside-down, which enable to fasten, on one side or the other, an add-on lining apron.
The lateral plates of the fastening system therefore comprise advantageously fastening means complementary to this lining apron.
The invention relates also to the protective apron comprising a fastening system as defined above; it also relates to a lining apron of plastic material, fitted with means that enable hooking the apron on the fastening system according to this invention.